Apple call center contractor pressuring employees to accept home surveillance

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
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A call center company used by Apple, Amazon, and other tech giants is allegedly requiring employees to accept in-home surveillance to monitor performance.

Teleperformance is allegedly coercing employees to accept in-home monitoring
Teleperformance is allegedly coercing employees to accept in-home monitoring


Apple outsources some of its call center needs to a company called Teleperformance based in Columbia. Six employees have stepped forward, claiming that their contracts have been amended to allow home surveillance.

According to NBC, some call center workers are being forced to accept in-home monitoring during the pandemic. Teleperformance has allegedly coerced some employees to sign new contracts or face reprisal or job loss.

One employee says she signed a new contract in March, which included home surveillance in the text. Despite that, she says that no surveillance technology had been installed.

"The contract allows constant monitoring of what we are doing, but also our family," said a Bogota-based worker on the Apple account who was not authorized to speak to the news media. "I think it's really bad. We don't work in an office. I work in my bedroom. I don't want to have a camera in my bedroom."

Teleperformance spokesman Mark Pfeiffer said that the company is "constantly looking for ways to enhance the Teleperformance Colombia experience for both our employees and our customers, with privacy and respect as key factors in everything we do."

Apple spokesperson Nick Leahy said that the company "prohibits the use of video or photographic monitoring by our suppliers and have confirmed Teleperformance does not use video monitoring for any of their teams working with Apple." Leahy said that Apple had audited Teleperformance in Colombia this year and did not find any "core violations of our strict standards."

"We investigate all claims and will continue to ensure everyone across our supply chain is treated with dignity and respect," Leahy added.

It appears as if pressure for increased home surveillance is coming from companies like Uber, not Apple. The data collected for Uber verifies that only authorized employees were accessing data and no unauthorized persons were near the computer.

Teleperformance says AI-powered video analysis is being tested in three markets. The employees testing the technology consented to biometric collection and data related to minors.

Apple has had some issues with outsourcing labor to other companies recently. Employees from CSAT Solutions have complained of 'sweatshop' conditions despite Apple audits finding the workplace acceptable.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    macbootxmacbootx Posts: 72member
    Apple call center contractor employees don’t need to be surveilled. What they need is the same caliber of training, coaching, and feedback that Apple employed call center workers get. 
    dysamoriachemengin1watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    iOS_Guy80iOS_Guy80 Posts: 813member
    macbootx said:
    Apple call center contractor employees don’t need to be surveilled. What they need is the same caliber of training, coaching, and feedback that Apple employed call center workers get. 
    I did not realize that the call centers had two types of employees. All these years I’ve been very pleased with the customer support I get from these call centers.
    Detnator
  • Reply 3 of 10
    amar99amar99 Posts: 181member
    Surveillance is becoming a theme associated with Apple as of late.
    edited August 2021 darkvaderchemengin1
  • Reply 4 of 10
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    amar99 said:
    Surveillance is becoming a theme associated with Apple as of late.

    "But think of the children" - Apple
    SisterMary90GeorgeBMacchemengin1
  • Reply 5 of 10
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 615member
    darkvader said:
    amar99 said:
    Surveillance is becoming a theme associated with Apple as of late.

    "But think of the children" - Apple
    When someone justifies doing something because children may be involved I know that there is no legitimate reason. It’s just the easy go to. 
    GeorgeBMacbaconstangdarkvader
  • Reply 6 of 10
    seankillseankill Posts: 566member
    If my employer tried to watch me work at home, I’d tell them stick it. Either trust me and my performance or fire me. Don’t want to work for a bunch of jacka$$e$ anyway. 
    dysamoriachemengin1darkvader
  • Reply 7 of 10
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Corporations: dedicated to the mission of converting anti-capitalist dystopian sci-fi into factual documentaries.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    dysamoria said:
    Corporations: dedicated to the mission of converting anti-capitalist dystopian sci-fi into factual documentaries.

    How is supervising and monitoring employees "anti-capitalist"?   I would say it is VERY capitalist!  The capitalist pays money for the work and wants to be sure the person is working instead of doing laundry or walking the dog.

    In a similar vein:   Increasingly, many of those evil capitalists are saying that they will pay remote workers less than onsite workers.  And, that is the right thing to do:   Not only are those remote workers spending less (lower clothing, transportation and food bills) but most reports show that they are less productive over the long haul.

    But, there's a whole other dynamic to remote work that many miss:   If you can do your work from some Caribbean island, somebody else can do it for far less money from another of those Caribbean Islands...  
    ...  Be careful what you wish for!
  • Reply 9 of 10
    amar99amar99 Posts: 181member
    It's fine, I much preferred the 90's apple. The little engine that could. The company who had to swim against the current, who actually did "think different".

    Fast forward to 2021..."fall in line"..."be political"..."give in to government demands". Just a few recommendations for new slogans. Oh, and yes, "think of the children" of course. To truly do what's best for children, they would have to delete the iPhone from existence. It's having such a negative effect overall, and that's being completely ignored. But yeah, sure, scan everyone's private photos. Thanks for reminding me there are other platforms.
    edited August 2021
  • Reply 10 of 10
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    jimh2 said:
    darkvader said:
    amar99 said:
    Surveillance is becoming a theme associated with Apple as of late.

    "But think of the children" - Apple
    When someone justifies doing something because children may be involved I know that there is no legitimate reason. It’s just the easy go to. 
    Where I live teachers and carers for children are subject to criminals records checks to see if they have a history of sexual abuse of children.  Because children are involved.  I guess there's no legitimate reason for that.
    watto_cobrajony0Detnator
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